PEOPLE AND ENTERTAINMENT

Lindsay Lohan's guest-starring stint on Ugly Betty has been trimmed from six episodes to four. Everyone seems to agree on that.

But then things get murky.

The folks at Ugly Betty say Lohan was a diva on the set and clashed with America Ferrera, the show's star. A Lohan defender tells the New York Post's Page Six that Lohan was embarrassed in a rehearsal when Ferrera, as Betty, pulled Lohan's pants down - something the Mean Girls star didn't think was going to happen in rehearsal.

And whether Lohan was wearing underwear is also in dispute.

Meanwhile, E! is saying that creative differences forced the issue, quoting a source as saying that Lohan's interpretation of her character wasn't in line with Betty's tone.

A novel approach

Canadian director David Cronenberg, known for Videodrome, The Fly and A History of Violence, is swapping his camera for a pen.

The moviemaker, who was attending the Rome Film Festival yesterday, said he has written 60 pages of a novel. But besides ruling out that it would be horror or science fiction, he offered few details on the project.

Cronenberg, 65, said he had wanted to write a book for 50 years.

Back to the table

Will there be a Hollywood ending to negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers?

Both sides are expected to return to the bargaining table soon to try to reach a deal with the help of federal mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez, Variety reports. It would be their first face-to-face bargaining session since July 16.

Requesting a mediator, a common tactic in difficult negotiations, appears to have been a compromise between SAG factions at odds over what its next move should be, Variety reported.

The studios maintain that they have no intention of sweetening the deal that has already been accepted by the Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America and the SAG's rival, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Quick clicks

* Just what the doctor ordered: ABC has called for a full-season order of Private Practice, the Grey's Anatomy spinoff that stars Kate Walsh, Tim Daly and Audra McDonald.